I weigh 17 stone and I am looking for some advice

[Heybarbie1028]

As the title says… I weigh 17 stone, 5”7. I am obese and I know it’s time to change.

I joined the gym last week and I’ve been considering getting a personal trainer for a while. Well I had a taster session today and I honestly think I am too unfit for any personal training right now. The trainer also wasn’t that encouraging either even though I was visibly struggling. They just sort of just told me what to do and watched me.

I feel like I can’t walk now and I don’t know if it’s best I shed a few stone first by going to the gym and eating well before paying more money to tone up.

What are your thoughts? Anyone been in the same position?

Did the PT work through a nutrition plan with you? I’ve had success with a PT before but as well as the weights, we talked nutrition, lifestyle and mindset a lot.
If this isn’t what you’re getting you maybe need to look for someone else. It can be helpful for accountability but you need more than a guided exercise session. It just supplements everything you do outside the gym.

I'd like some snack idea's please to replace chocolate and crisps ? X

Yeah I wouldn't go with that. It basically tells you what calories you need to hit whatever target you've set. What it doesn't take into account is that such a huge calorie deficit is going to be a real struggle and will probably result in the person being miserable and giving up.

I have a few friends who have lost loads on team RH. They work out your calories and steps for you and are realistic about it. Ultimately that is what you need in order to lose weight. A calorie deficit. But without feeling that you're constantly hungry.

Hi just thought I'd pop on. I'm very obese. I hav various h Al h issues mainly exacerbated by my weight. I decided to mak a change the day after new Year's Day. I did a week of dieting by myself and lost no weight. Ive been calorie counting since and I joined slimming world and am loosely following their plan with regards to filling up on vegetables and meat etc. I aim for 10,000 steps every single day. In two weeks I have lost 7.5lbs. My starting weight was 19st 2lb. I think making small changes to your diet and eating more healthier filling foods is the way to go. Once I can get below 15 stones I will join a gym maybe but for now just getting my steps in seems to be helping. I know how rough it is when your carrying a bit more weight. I'm going to try and lose as much as I can over the coming months and then try to tone up when I'm a bit lighter and more physically able.

Congratulations for deciding to make a change. That's the biggest step and it sounds like you're serious about it. You've got this!

I agree with all the previous posters that, while some gentle exercise will do you the world of good, you need to primarily address your diet. I've had reasonable success in the past with intermittent fasting, using 5:2 and more recently 16:8 diets. Although I'm now at the point that I've put on weight and need to start again! I think for me just having some kind of "rules" to follow makes me much more conscious of things like mindless snacking, as I don't want to ruin any progress I might be making. Calorie counted has also worked for me but is undoubtedly a PITA.

Wishing you the best of luck with this. It's hard but you can do it and future you will thank you!

I went from 17 stone down to 11 stone and change. Took 9 months.

Tell us about your current diet? Where do you think you can improve? What do you struggle with?

How did you stay focused @MattDamon? I’ve gained a lot with menopause and am the biggest I’ve ever been (same height and weight as OP) but whereas before I could make a plan and the weight would come off, I find it harder now.

I would definitely just aim to walk more, or swim if you want, whatever you can manage. You could do some weight training as well as that’s really important, but you don’t need to go to a gym if you don’t want to, there’s loads of videos on YouTube.

Diet drives the majority of weight loss. I have lost a stone and half so far and have gotten out of the obese category . I have cut out snacking on crisps and ice cream and buns at night. Cut down wine. Reduced potion sized. And I walk - as much as I can every day.

walking is easy. It’s free. Get a good audio book.

I want to lose another two stone. It’s slow and start - half a stone a month. But my winter coat zips again which is amazing and I can fit into size 14 again!

Hi OP. Not my experience but a friend in a similar situation decided to try and shift a few stone first and get used to exercise and the gym before starting with a personal trainer. She started in January last year, lost about three stone then got the PT involved in June I think. And since then she has lost a ton of weight, and really toned up too. It's been impressive to see and I know she was glad she held off for the PT as she feels it would have put her off starting with them as it was daunting enough.

Obviously that's just her story and there must be PTs who are well trained to work with people starting a weight loss journey - it doesn't sound like your current PT is able to give that support? Good luck - I really hope you get to your goal.

Oh and should have said - friend got her diet sorted first I think, before upping the exercise.

Exercise will not help you lose weight. You can not out exercise a bad diet. Use the James smith calorie calculator to determine a sustainable calorie deficit to lose weight. At 17 stone you will have a very generous calorie allowance to start with. Initially concentrate on keeping within your calorie allowance. Use my fitness pal to log your food.
Increasw your physical movement. More walking. Add a few thousand steps a day for a while.
It is very simply, eat less move more.

How did you lose the weight?

Im nearly 17 stone too but am shorter than you at 5'4. Only in the last couple of days have I started watching what I'm eating. Its not going well.

I want to lose a few stone too but I have chronic fatigue so my exercise is very limited. Also on a v tired day, I can just about cope with making cheese on toast for dinner. It’s hard to explain, but even chopping salad can be too much.

I’m going to try what some of you have suggested here and start with one change. Which I think is going to be upping water per day, I can fill my big water flask and keep it next to me. So thanks for the tip.

Best of luck OP and thanks for starting this thread, be thinking about you!

I weigh a bit more than you and am shorter.

I go to the gym 4 times a week and do three classes on top of that, plus a separate class. It is a damn sight easier to exercise once you've gotten over the first couple of weeks. You'll get stronger, you'll feel better mentally and you'll start to see changes after a few months. The eating tends to fall in line better when your head is in the game and you're being active.

Don't fall into the "lose some weight first then start exercising".

I was just so sick of feeling rubbish all the time. I knew if I lost the weight I would feel better (and look better!). I tried to keep the focus on that as opposed to obsessing over the scale.

I lost the first two stone over 11 weeks. I did two slimfast shakes and a 600 calorie meal per day. It really helped break free from constantly thinking about food.

I lost the next two stone using calorie counting. I broke it up into 7 lbs mini targets to keep my motivated.

I lost the last stone and change with calorie counting and exercise.

I'm at a healthy BMI now and I exercise for fun instead of punishment.

I find the below work well. I know some people will say you can eat crudités and low fat houmous or just eat fruit but some of us are just hungry people 🤷🏼‍♀️
I find these stop me from reaching for the junk and the cottage cheese and egg options are quite filling. However we do still buy a bag of crisps to share on the weekend and love the Forest Feast dark chocolate covered fruit - great with a strong coffee after dinner (although not the healthiest) Hope you find one that works for you :)

A nice savoury snack
https://www.sainsburysmagazine.co.uk/recipes/snacks/red-pepper-and-spinach-egg-muffins

The cottage cheese is very filling and isn’t as horrid as it sounds me. You need to buy the dry type that they sell in the Polish section of supermarkets.
https://wellnessbykay.com/viral-frozen-cottage-cheese-bark-easy-high-protein/
this is the type you need
https://www.sainsburys.co.uk/gol-ui/product/ProductDisplay?storeId=10151&productId=1193300&langId=44&istCompanyId=1e096408-041f-4238-994e-a7cf46bf9413&istFeedId=689af7a8-5842-4d88-be59-1ee5688a81b5&istItemId=wwwmrilap&istBid=t&&cmpid=cpc&utm_source=Google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=20333793068&utm_content=shopping&utm_term=%7Bsku%7D&utm_custom1=&utm_custom2=759-449-0952&gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI77_i54LygwMVFYdQBh0ZWQ1hEAQYAyABEgKutvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Great for crunch when trying not to eat crisps
https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/197683/simple-roasted-chickpea-snack/

A nice treat but probably not for every day
https://nadiashealthykitchen.com/vegan-gluten-free-florentines/

Hey everyone. Thank you so much for your replies and advice - it’s much appreciated.

A few people have asked for my diet. Eek okay… here’s what I’ve eaten today:

piece of thick 50/50 bread with a generous amount of peanut butter
half a can of sprite zero

cup of tea with one sweetener
half a bar of Ritter sport chocolate (the 100g bar)

3 eggs - scrambled on a piece of toast with ketchup
(this was actually not that bad for me - normally it’s something a lot more unhealthy - pasta or a packet of rice with frozen onion rings)
one frozen waffle with mayonnaise
can of Coke Zero

then finished off the Ritter chocolate bar

salted cashew nuts
2 glasses of Prosecco

fusilli pasta - around 110g dry
half a tub of Morrisons bolognese pasta sauce
about 3/4 of a ball of mozzarella
lots of caeser dressing with the pasta (sounds odd I know but I am addicted to condiments)
2 garlic bread slices with lots of full fat mayo
can of Coke Zero

mini eggs yoghurt
nearly a whole big bag of aero melts (there’s about 6 left)

I’ve had 500ml of water all day which is actually more than I usually have
I also normally have a latte and a croissant for breakfast

omg now I’ve written it out… what am I doing to myself 🤦🏼‍♀️ I just don’t know where to start with the food…

If you have Instagram, look up Trishas.transformation
Very inspirational. Good luck.

Hi! I'd say your diet isn't great. But on the positive, there are lots of quick changes you can make to shift weight fast.

I'd found this current thread helpful for ideas and encouragement to lose the kgs!

5 stone 26 weeks - Anyhow that works for you http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/weightlosss_chat/4975804-5-stone-26-weeks-anyhow-that-works-for-you

@Heybarbie1028 Well you can see that most of that is “reward” food.
Instant pleasure from super flavoured stuff - sugar, high fat/ high carbs combo, fizzy, salty etc.
Just easy fixes when you’re bored really.

I would definitely give low carbing a try just to get used to real food and get rid of the sugar addiction. You eat fat protein diary and veg.

Body Pump is quite good when you still have a lot of weight to lose - I’d find somewhere you can try
that.

Very rough calculation but that’s about 3600 calories. There are some easy things you could do to bring that down quite a lot while still having plenty to eat- cutting out the mayo and Caesar dressing, chocolate etc and adding in more fruit and veg. Lots of things are fine- nothing wrong with peanut butter or scrambled eggs- protein will fill you up- but it’s overall very high sugar and highly processed.

Have you tried dieting before? You’ll get lots of different advice about counting calories v counting carbs. IME they can both work- the key is to find the approach that fits best with your lifestyle and what you like to eat.

That's mainly a lot of ultra processed junk food but you must know that.

Do you have the time and the equipment to cook proper food?